Doolittle Raiders' last toast

Three of the four surviving members of the 1942 Tokyo raid led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, left to right, David Thatcher, Edward Saylor, and Richard Cole, pose next to a monument marking the raid, Nov. 9, 2013, outside the National Museum for the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

The Doolittle Raiders launched the first American attack on Tokyo during WWII on April 18, 1942. Eighty men took off in 16 B-25 bombers. Eleven were killed or captured and 13 more died later in the war. This is the last year that the surviving members of the Doolittle Raiders will participate in a public reunion.

Credit: U.S. Air Force

David Thatcher, one of the four surviving members of the 1942 raid on Tokyo led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, waves from a car as he arrives at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, Nov. 9, 2013.

Three of the four surviving members of the WWII raid came for a final toast in the evening.

Credit: Al Behrman/AP

Surviving Doolittle Raiders Richard Cole, left, David Thatcher, center, and Edward Saylor take part in a commemoration for the 70th anniversary of the raid on Tokyo at the Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, April 18, 2012.

Cole, Thatcher and Saylor returned to the museum Nov. 9, 2013, to make a final toast to comrades who died in or since their World War II bombing attack on Japan. Only four of the 80 Raiders are still alive, and one isn't able to travel.

Credit: Mark Duncan/AP

Robert Hite, one of four surviving members of the 1942 raid led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle on Tokyo, Japan, toasting his comrades while at his home in Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 4, 2013.

Hite, who is unable to travel, will not be able to join the other three surviving members at ceremonies in Dayton, Ohio, Nov. 9, 2013.

Credit: Wallace Hite/AP

North American B-25B in flight. The B-25B now on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force was converted from a B-25D to B-25B configuration for the 10th Anniversary of the Tokyo Raid.

Credit: U.S. Air Force

Richard Cole, one of four surviving members of the 1942 raid on Tokyo led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle opens an 1896 bottle of cognac the raiders had been saving for their final toast, Nov. 9, 2013, at the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

Credit: Al Behrman/AP

Three of the four surviving members of the 1942 Tokyo raid led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, seated left to right, Edward Saylor, Richard Cole, and David Thatcher, listen to a speaker during their final toast celebration, Nov. 9, 2013, at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

The goblets at left represent all of the members of the raiders. They are turned upside down if they have passed away.

Credit: Al Behrman/AP

Two of the four surviving members of the 1942 raid on Tokyo led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, Edward Saylor, center, and Richard Cole, right, are thanked by Gen. Mark Welsh III, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, and Eric Fanning, left, acting Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, Nov. 9, 2013.

Credit: Al Behrman/AP

Richard Cole, left, one of the four surviving members of the 1942 raid on Tokyo led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, speaks for the other survivors during ceremonies honoring them, Nov. 9, 2013, at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

Credit: Al Behrman/AP

Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle accepts a medal from the skipper of the USS Hornet, Capt. Marc A. Mitscher. The medal, once given to a U.S. Navy officer by the Japanese, was wired to a 500-pound bomb for return to Japan "with interest."

Credit: U.S. Air Force

Eric Fanning, left, acting Secretary of the U.S. Air Force walks to the podium past three of the surviving members, seated left to right, Edward Saylor, David Thatcher, and Richard Cole, of the 1942 raid on Tokyo led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, Nov. 9, 2013, outside the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

Credit: Al Behrman/AP

Richard Cole, center, proposes a toast with two other surviving members of the 1942 Tokyo raid led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, Edward Saylor, left, and David Thatcher, Nov. 9, 2013, at the National Museum for the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

Credit: Al Behrman/AP

Three of the four surviving members of the 1942 Tokyo raid led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, left to right, Edward Saylor, Richard Cole, and David Thatcher, applaud a speaker during their final toast celebration, Nov. 9, 2013, at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

Credit: Al Behrman/AP

Robert Hite, one of four surviving members of the 1942 raid led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle on Tokyo, Japan, saluting at his home in Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 4, 2013.

Credit: Wallace Hite/AP

Richard Cole, center, proposes a toast with two other surviving members of the 1942 Tokyo raid led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, Edward Saylor, left, and David Thatcher, Nov. 9, 2013, at the National Museum for the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.